10 reasons to watch 'UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva II'

This could be one of the most unnecessary event preview stories in recent history. Or, if you’re not a fan of them in the first place, another piece for the scrap heap.

Wherever you stand, it’s hard to argue that UFC 168, which takes place Saturday at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, pretty much sells itself. And that’s even in this year’s crowded field of competition.

The UFC has had a tremendous run of luck in 2013 as far as injuries go, but it’s also had that in terms of quality fights.

Sure, there have been usual spates of stinkers. (Name your own right now in your head, and shame on you if you don’t mention Soa Palelei vs. Nikita Krylov.) Then there are fights that were truly sublime not just for MMA, but combat sports, and several under the spotlight of main-event status.

Simply put, there’s a lot of competition for “Fight of the Year.” More than a few fighters are going to get their feelings hurt at awards time.

UFC 168, which airs live on pay-per-view (10 p.m. ET) FOX Sports 1 (8 p.m. ET) and MMAjunkie (7 p.m. ET), is coming on the heels of a tactical barnburner between Alexander Gustafsson and Jon Jones at UFC 165, a bloodbath between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos at UFC 166, and a nail-biter between Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks at UFC 167.

Still, if you’re not dying to see whether Chris Weidman’s UFC middleweight belt is merely on loan from Anderson Silva, or if Weidman is the future and Silva is the past, or if Silva is still the greatest, or if Silva will hang up his belt – well, one hates to use absolutes, but you’re probably not an MMA fan.

Not five minutes after Weidman shocked the world and knocked out Silva, the greatest knockout artist this sport has ever seen, the UFC’s biggest rematch was cemented, and the clock began counting down.

The rematch is so big, fans have minded little that the buildup to it has been largely uneventful, with Weidman promising to solidify his title and Silva promising to be a different, better fighter.

UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, former opposing coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 18″ and and bitter rivals, have done most of the heavy lifting of promotion as the co-main-event draw. But even that fire has died down, as both expended a lot of air in the buildup to the reality show.

For longtime observers, it might not be a surprise that heavyweight Josh Barnett stole the show at the event’s press conference. Barnett, who meets Travis Browne in a title eliminator, worked the microphone like a pro and brought some life to what was otherwise a pedestrian gathering.

It’s all gravy, though. Most of the people who were going to buy the fight before already were convinced. Now, it’s a question of whether casual fans get involved to the degree the UFC thinks they will.

Certainly, if your cable TV has been on any time in the past month, you’ve heard the speaker-distorting voice of Richard Patrick belting an industrial cover of The Turtles’ “Happy Together” on the UFC 168 promo. (A brief aside: You think the marketing team knew how that would sound to fans on the thousandth listen?)

The UFC expects the live gate for Saturday’s show to be in excess of $6 million. Silva’s most-watched fight is his rematch with Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 – a bout that certainly punctured the popular consciousness.

Will the mild-mannered Weidman generate the same interest? Possibly. But the significance of his accomplishment means it should.

1. Why so serious?

Even by his own standards, Silva (33-5 MMA, 16-1 UFC) outdid himself when he fought Weidman (10-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in July at UFC 162. He didn’t just clown. He didn’t just vogue, or do an Ali shuffle. He feigned getting hurt as Weidman punched him. Several times. When he got caught by one arching left hook, he was in the middle of faking the cerebral damage he sustained for real. Some saw the outcome as justice. Some saw it as lucky. Whatever you think, the question of whether he clowns again is perhaps the single most intriguing question of Saturday’s event.

2. Now I’m ready.

The way it sounded, Weidman’s life was pretty much in shambles the first time he faced Silva. His house was wrecked by Hurricane Sandy, his shoulder was on the mend, and he hadn’t fought in a year. Clearly, adversity agrees with him.

Lest we forget, Weidman cut 32 pounds to fight Demian Maia on 11 days’ notice, and won. Full training camps aren’t an impediment – he’s still undefeated, after all. But this one’s different. He is tasked with again defeating the man considered the world’s greatest MMA fighter, and how he chooses to approach Silva this time around is a must-watch.

3. Silva’s swan song?

In the past year, “The Spider” and those close to him have dropped hints about an impending end to his career. Silva has eight fights left on his contract, and one of them he’ll burn with a rematch against Weidman. Beating Weidman and leaving on a high note seems too good to be true, but Silva has never been a fan of predictability. Still, he is 38 years old, and while he might not have Georges St-Pierre money, he’s not hurting at all. And short of avenging his loss to Weidman, and maybe even despite it, he has nothing to prove.

4. Time to put-up or shut up.

UFC women’s bantamweight champ Rousey (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Tate (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) have been jawing at each other almost two years now, and frankly, the routine is getting a little tired. It’s time to see whether Tate has learned her lesson after getting armbarred by Rousey in their first meeting in March 2012. And, of course, whether Rousey has more tools in her arsenal than her patented submission move, or if she even needs them.

5. Announcements forthcoming.

UFC President Dana White teased some announcements at the pre-event presser. Is it a new sponsorship program? The return of Brock Lesnar? The full details on the UFC’s new digital network? The executive said the promotion has plenty of news, so tune in to MMAjunkie for what’s likely to be a lively post-event presser.

6. Eliminator to a title-eliminator.

Once again, we have a classic grizzled vet vs. young blood matchup, this time in the form of heavyweight world-tour artist Barnett (33-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) against Browne (15-1-1 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC). The winner of the fight, according to White, will next year meet Fabricio Werdum, with the victor meeting champ Cain Velasquez upon his removal from the disabled list.

Browne gets a challenge unlike he’s previously faced in Barnett, who’s savage on the ground and underrated on his feet. The vet isn’t as spry as he used to be, but this fight will show whether his technique is suitable to overcome Browne’s athleticism. Prepare to see some fence time, because there’s going to be a battle for the takedown.

7. Miller’s return.

Before he ran into Benson Henderson, Jim Miller (22-4 MMA, 11-3 UFC) beat seven lightweights in a row. He’s had a rocky road in his past outings, though a recent loss to Pat Healy was voided by Healy’s positive test for pot. But with eight months on the bench, he should return to form against tough grappler Fabricio Camoes (14-7-1 MMA, 1-2-1 UFC).

8. The mind of a striker.

Urijah Hall (7-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) needs a hit. And by hit, he needs a perfectly placed kick or punch that will convince White he still has the ability to do so. Hall, a finalist on “The Ultimate Fighter 17,” is on the cut list if he can’t make an example of old-dog veteran Chris Leben (22-10 MMA, 12-9 UFC). Losses to Kevin Gastelum (at the TUF 17 Finale) and John Howard sapped the momentum he built with a spin-kick knockout of Adam Cella on the reality show. He gets one more chance to earn his keep in the UFC.

9. Lightweight’s possible rise.

Michael Johnson’s stock took a huge jump when he dominated Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 26. If Johnson (13-8 MMA, 5-4 UFC) is able to beat lightweight stalwart Gleison Tibau (28-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC), he should break into the top 10. For a guy with a 13-8 record, that’s no small feat.

10. A seven-day break from fighting.

Oh, you thought the end of the year meant a break from UFC events? Not in the slightest. Fans get three days of peace before ringing in 2014, and then, four days later, we’re back at it in Singapore. Sure, stateside fans will have to fork over $9.99 monthly for the promotion’s digital subscription network. The point is, time off is a thing of the past.

The Latest

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?

Ronda Rousey’s statistical greatness has already ventured into uncharted territory – just six fights into her UFC career. Check out all the post-fight facts, including Rousey’s latest achievements, about UFC 190.